Angle Where are you going?
by coldrules
Summary: Where is my angel?. I had no clue where my little girl went. Running a hand wearily across my face, I scanned the ever-growing crowd, searching desperately for her. Why I had thought it would be okay to bring her with me, I don’t remember.
1. Prolouge

Prolouge

Where is my angel?. I had no clue where my little girl went. Running a hand wearily across my face, I scanned the ever-growing crowd, searching desperately for her. Why I had thought it would be okay to bring her with me, I don't remember.

Slipping in and out of the throngs of people, my eyes darted frantically, looking for my baby girl. She was only five and she was my life. I thought I would never see her again.

Everyone was light, and pale just like her. I hope she is okay, I was searching frantically back and forth. I will not stop till i find my baby. She is so young, I want her back, I want my baby back. I Kept repeating that in my head as I kept running, searching. Where on heavens earth can my baby be?

When I heard a collective gasp from the crowd and then a bunch of women making loving and adoring sounds, I briefly wondered if they were fawning all over her. I shoved my way to the front of the crowd and stopped dead in my tracks at what I saw.

That was when i saw Edward holding my baby.


	2. Chapter 1

I could not move at all. My jaw fell involuntarily from my sealed lips down to my toes, and I was hopeless as to try to pick it up from the ground. It took a lot of work for me to get my jaw back in place.

This has to be a lie a dream something besides this. Please let it not be true, this is so unreal. Call it jealousy or contempt but anyone who thought they were better than anyone else—simply because of money or status or looks—I automatically deemed not worthy of my time. So not knowing that this crowd—parade—of people were here, simply because Edward was doing some shopping, came as no surprise.

But standing there, looking back and forth between my outrageously adorable daughter and the stunningly handsome Edward, I felt out of place. As odd as it was, I felt like I had no claim to my baby girl.

I want my baby girl back, I continuously said in the back of my head.

"Mommy!" Rae squealed, squirming around in his grasp. Immediately I was blinded by lights popcorning around me. The paparazzi were having a field day and in no way did I want Rae to be tomorrow's cover.

"Rae!" I gasped, knowing that she had put me in an extremely humiliating situation.

I refused to take my eyes off her face, not brave enough to swim in the murky green waters that were Edward's eyes.

"Is this your mom?" I heard him ask Rae in a very smooth voice. I almost laughed when I thought that his voice would put her to sleep faster than any lullaby.

Rae broke out into a grin, her teeth glittering in the bright sun light, with one little noticeable gap in the front.

She lunged at me, throwing the prince off guard. "Careful there," he smiled at me, patting her head lightly. I knew at this point I had to look up. His intense stare caught me off guard and I knew I looked like a deer in the headlights. "Feisty one, isn't she?"

I might not follow the royal family religiously, but I still knew what was expected of me, so I quickly curtsied before him. "Yes, Your Highness, she is."

Gazing up at him from under my lashes, too afraid to meet him head on, I saw him straighten up into a stiffer posture. It was nice to see him lax and carefree with Rae but my display of "worship" quickly reminded him of our standings in this world—I was a commoner, and he was the prince of England, destined to become king. Our worlds didn't mix; they shouldn't have even collided.

He nodded at me, returning the formalities.

I quickly gathered Rae up into my arms, ready to rush away the second it deemed appropriate, but he seemed reluctant to let me leave.

"Can I get your name?" he smiled. It was devastatingly handsome and I cringed at thinking something so beautiful was directed my way.

"Isabella," I replied curtly, straightening up my posture. I might be shy, but I had pride.

"Aren't you going to ask what my name is?" he grinned playfully.

I almost wanted to play along. Almost. "I already know your name," I stated.

"Care to enlighten me?"

"Edward Cullen," I responded quickly. I didn't know what game he was playing, but I certainly didn't have time for it.

"You seem to have forgotten a rather significant detail," he smiled smugly. People think of Edward as a Prince, a elderly women said.

"Isabella!" he called out, as I dashed in and out of the crowds of people. It seemed as if all of Europe had come out to see his glorious majesty. Real ego-booster there.

I was working on a group with children, trying to cut through them without stepping on any of their toes, when I felt a firm grasp on my elbow. "Wait," he breathed out.

Halting, I turned around to face him, my head looking at the suddenly interesting concrete. The way the bland gray mixes with the tiny pebbles and shards of unknown material…purely fascinating.

"Look at me," he said, frustrated.

I lifted my eyes, slowly, carefully, afraid that I would see _his_ eyes instead. The images floated around in my head. The command was so familiar, as if it had been emblazoned into my mind. Every sensor in my body was reminding me to breathe. My mind was telling me that it wasn't the same man, that it was _impossible_ for it to be the same man.

I calmed myself down enough to look up at him, though I could hardly meet his eyes.

"You're still not looking _at_ me," he whispered, as if sensing that this moment that had just occurred was too fragile and too delicate to speak even an octave higher.

Swallowing back the lump in my throat, and trying to wash away the rivers that demanded to be released from the seas in my eyes, I met his eyes head on. Equal to equal.

His brush was so delicate, I hardly recognized it was his fingertip, but it gently caressed over my skin, right under my eyes, before pulling away. "You're crying," he stated, confused.

"It's nothing," I croaked out.

I love my daughter, but she had a big mouth and now was one of the times I wished it wasn't illegal to snap pieces of tape over her lips just to keep her quiet.

"Grandpa said a man did something bad to mommy," Rae whispered to Edward, reaching her hands out to him.

I stared in amazement when he took her from my arms, and held her in his own, as if she _was_ his own.

"And did grandpa ever tell you what was so bad about what this man did?" he asked Rae, though staring straight at me, his eyes hard, and unreadable.

She giggled, her eyes shining brightly. At that moment, she reminded me why I named her what I did. Through the experience—though I would hardly qualify it as something anyone deserved to go through—she was my beacon of hope. She was the one thing I got out of the whole turmoil. She was my shining ray that peaked out in the clouds. When she came to me, there seemed to be a sun after all.

"Story time!" she yelled, smiling crazily like a little girl who has been told the world is her playground.

Edward turned his attention back toward her. "How would you like to have story time in a castle?" he asked, tickling her.

"Your Highness," I started, before he interrupted me.

"Call me Edward."

I stared at him for a few seconds, contemplating his suggestion, decided simply to not address him at all, and continued. "I don't think we can. I have to get Rae back home. It's getting late and she still hasn't eaten dinner or taken a nap."

He waved his hand, excusing my excuses, and took my hand in his. I gasped at the contact and he looked down at me, warily, but I simply nodded, and forced out a tight smile.

"I'd like to continue our conversation away from prying eyes and listening ears," he explained, as he led us over to his car.

Shocked into speechlessness once again, I looked at his silver, sparkling Volvo. As nice as it was, it was no Lamborghini.

"You don't drive something more…ostentatious?" I questioned.

He laughed and I think it was the first time I saw him being so loose and carefree around _me_.

"Believe me, I have cars that are ostentatious, but I do like to try to blend in."

Now it was my turn to laugh. Him. Blend in. That, my friends, is what I call a joke.

Getting into the passenger side of the vehicle, I turned in my seat as I watched him buckle in Rae. She was smiling and giggling the whole time. But when he went to clasp in the buckle, it must have accidentally pinched her, because she broke into hysterics and started whimpering.

I wanted to laugh, knowing how much of a drama queen she was, but instead I sat in stilled silence as I watched him comfort her, amazed.

"Rae, baby, it's okay. Can you show me where it hurts?" he asked, smoothing out her rumpled hair.

She nodded, whipping furiously at her eyes, and lifted up her shirt, to show him her side. I leaned into the back and pulled her shirt down a little, chuckling at her. The innocence of childhood had made her practically take off her shirt, when in reality her pinched skin was to the side of her belly.

"Do you want me to kiss it?" he asked her.

She sniffled and nodded.

It was probably the most endearing sight I had ever seen and I felt like an invader. It was as if they were having a private moment. Like a child would have with her daddy. And then the guilt stabbed at me.

Rae looked at him with such loving eyes that I knew she was taken with him. But he was a prince. And the clock strikes at midnight. This was a one-day fairytale Rae and I were living, and when we woke up tomorrow morning, we would each have to go back to our mundane ways, as commoners.

I was beginning to think this wasn't such a good idea. I didn't want Rae to become so attached to him, only for him to leave her.

But when I looked back and forth between the two, and saw the smiles on each of their faces, I almost believed that we could work. That being a prince and being a commoner could be an obstacle we could overcome.

"There we go, my little princess," I heard him whisper, right before the door slammed shut, reminding me that fairytales didn't belong in reality.


	3. Chapter 2

_After navigating through the hoards of screaming people and flashing lights, we finally made it to a winding road and silence fell upon us. Aside from Rae babbling on and on, Edward and I remained quiet. What was there to say?_

"_So do you always do this?" I asked, turning my gaze away from the outside world to chance a glance at him._

_The corners of his mouth turned upward into what most would say was a smile, but I could tell was the faint outline of a smirk. "Do what?" he questioned._

"_Pick up commoners and bring them back to your 'castle'?" What do you call the place he lives in? A home?_

"_Recently, yes. It has to do with this charity project I've been working on."_

"_We're a __charity_ project?" I asked, anger seeping into my words, my face contorting into a furious red mask.

He glanced over at me and his smile immediately fell. "It was just a joke."

I rolled my eyes and looked back out the window, noticing that we were nearing our destination. "It wasn't funny," I muttered.

All my life I felt like "the charity case." His words hit too close to home. My mom had died of cancer when I was six and since then too many people had tried to mother me, thinking they were giving me what I had lost out on. Did they realize I had memories? That I still remembered the sound of her voice and the brightness of her smile? That they could never replace her? No, they didn't, because they never really knew me. I was just another cause they were investing some time into.

Edward's hand slowly came into my peripheral view and latched onto my own, gently giving it a squeeze. "I'm sorry," he whispered, a small smile gracing his face, though his eyes showed worry and hesitation.

I looked down at our entwined hands. I knew it was meant as a friendly gesture, but the physical contact was still overwhelming.

I nodded to let him know it was fine, and removed my hand from his grasp. It had been almost six years and I still hadn't gotten over it. Physical contact still scared me, but even worse, it scared those around me. Those who knew what happened were afraid to touch me. Even Rae, my baby, my little girl, knew that sometimes when she cried I couldn't physically be there for her. And sometimes that physical contact helped you mentally, but I couldn't do any of it. Not on days when something triggered the memories so clearly that they flashed in front of my eyes like a slow paced movie. Like Edward's words, _Look at me_. That was today's trigger.

Edward interrupted my thoughts and I turned to look at him, trying to recompose my face. "The real reason I'm doing this is because of Rae. As I was coming out of the store, I made my way over to the crowd. All the little kids were giggling like maniacs and curtseying or bowing. All except Rae. When I got to her she wore the most serious face and told me that if I wanted her to treat me like a prince I would first have to take her to a castle." He chuckled at the last part, shaking his head.

I smiled tightly, glancing back at Rae who had pulled my old Barbie dolls out of the tiny backpack she carried everywhere. Every night before I tucked Rae into bed _she_ told _me_ a story. It was always about princes and princesses and happy endings. And me, never wanting to crush her dreams, let her believe that anything was possible.

"It's that easy, huh?" I grinned. "Just treat you like your normal and it irks you enough that you're willing to make _our_ wishes _your _command?"

He laughed and it was so rich and deep that I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. "Not exactly." He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it. Trying again, he said, "I honestly don't know how to explain this, and I don't want you to think of me as some sort of pedophile, but there's something infectious about Rae. She reminds me of my niece and I just sort of couldn't help myself. She's special, you know. I swear if she asked for the world, it would be hard to tell her no."

I stared straight ahead, smiling slightly. I knew exactly what he meant. I knew how special she was and not for a single day did I take her for granted. I just wished I didn't have to say no, but our current funds, or lack there of, had me uttering that word frequently. "She's my life," I whispered.

"I feel like she's already becoming a part of mine," he agreed.

"She does that to people," I laughed. "Just wheedles her way in."

Before either of us could say anything else, Rae spoke up, her voice serious in concentration. "Mister Edward, these cars have been following us the whole entire time." Her eyes were wide and darting around frantically.

He chuckled and looked over at me to wink. "Don't worry about them, Rae. They're just following us to protect you."

"Me?" Rae gasped. "You mean like a real princess."

"Of course," he laughed.

"This is so cool. Mommy, what do you think grandpa will say?"

"I don't know, Rae. We'll just have to wait until we get back home."

"Mister Edward, do you think they would bow to me like they do for you?"

"Rae!" I yelled. "Remember what I taught you. Everyone is equal. You better not get out of this car asking people to bow down to you and giving them orders."

"Sorry," she muttered. "I just thought it would be cool. _So_ really cool."

She looked so sad, like a kid who lost her puppy. I knew her question was innocent, but I was a firm believer in equality and if I taught Rae anything I wanted it to be equal opportunity and that no one was better than her.

"How about this Rae. You can pretend to be queen while your Barbies bow down to you?" At least then it would be fake people.

She went back to playing with her dolls, making Barbie, me, and making Ken, Edward. Edward and I laughed as we heard her essentially telling us that we had to bow down to her.

"You know, Rae is extremely perceptive," he noted.

"She is extremely bright," I agreed, thinking about how she was able to pick up on the fact that cars were following us. "So how many people follow you a day?" I questioned, craning my neck to count the number of cars that were really only following us to protect him.

"Too many to count," he muttered.

"Did you have to fight any of them off in order to allow us to come with you?"

"You do realize they are under my orders?"

"Don't be such a smart ass. Besides, everyone knows the Royal Family is just a figurehead. It's not like you have any political say."

His face turned serious, almost contemplative. "In all honesty, I've never done something like this in my life. Every day has been planned out. Every step I take has been captured. You and Rae were so incredibly different from anyone I know. I guess I wanted to take a chance, no matter if you leak this to the press afterward, or what anyone advisor might think."

"Ah, so we were your liberation?"

"I guess you could say that."

"Just to let you know, this is probably the most spontaneous thing Rae and I have ever done either. I honestly don't know why I agreed to get in a car with a complete stranger, especially after I keep teaching Rae over and over again to never do something like that."

Edward appeared to be mock hurt. "I am _not_ a stranger."

I laughed, shaking my head. "Yes, you are," I argued as we slowly crept our way toward the gates of Buckingham Palace. I shielded my eyes as lights continually went off. Rae started screaming when people threw themselves against the car, but as soon as it started, it ended. Guards and security pushed people out of the way, leading us to the inside.

After parking the car, Edward unbuckled his seat belt and turned to face me. "You know who I am. Everyone knows who I am. I am not a stranger."

I sighed. He really had to get over this whole prince thing. He wasn't as high and mighty as he appeared to be. "Knowing your name and knowing you as a person are two completely separate things."

"Oh, come on! My life is a soap opera. You know me, admit it."

I raised my eyebrows. So he was going to play the media card. "You know what, that's right!" I joked. "You're the prince who's with a different girl every weekend! How dare I forget."

He sent a glare my way. "So you don't know me then," he relented.

"You mean the rumors aren't true?" I laughed.

"No comment," he mumbled as he swiftly got out of the car.

Before I could even make my way to get Rae out of the car, Edward already had. Surprisingly, she hadn't insisted on being let down. Like me, she was a girl who was fiercely independent and not often did she want to be held. Right now, though, she was cuddled into Edward's arms, her face in the crook of his neck. He was whispering unintelligible words to her and she lifted her head to smile adoringly at him. It was like a scene out of a movie and I wished I could capture this moment with a camera.

"Ma'am?"

I whipped around to see a straight-as-a-nail man dressed in a suit staring inquisitively at me.

I gulped, out of nerves, and responded. "Yes?"

"Will you be needing me to retrieve your things?" he questioned, motioning toward the car.

Confused, I looked into the car to see Rae's few toys scattered in the back.

"That's okay," I smiled. "I can get it."

I moved to get her things when a hand on the small of my back stopped me. Turning around I saw Edward looking at me impatiently. "It's his job, Bella. Come on, let's get inside before they get anymore shots of Rae." So he was concerned, too. At least that was comforting, but still, I felt the need to get Rae's things on my own. She was my daughter; no one else was obliged to take care of her or to pick up after her.

Smiling gently at Edward, I continued toward the car and picked up her things quickly.

When I was next to Edward again, we were immediately surrounded by security. "For Rae," he explained. I nodded my head, looking at her to see that she was practically asleep. "So you couldn't listen to me, huh?" he grinned.

"She's my daughter. She's my job, no one else's."

His gaze turned toward hers and he nodded. "I've always wondered what it would be like to have to care for someone else. I'm so used to having everything done for me. I guess I just want to feel useful."

"You do realize you're a prince? You govern millions of people."

"As you've said, I'm merely a figurehead. My decisions don't count so much as my presence."

"Well, I can certainly say you've had quite a presence with my daughter."

"Really?" he gleamed, looking toward me for confirmation.

"She's never had a father," I told him quietly. "I think she's really taken with you. Just do me a favor?"

"Hmm?" he questioned, while gazing down at her, running his hand through her hair.

"Don't break her heart."


End file.
